JP7114416B2 - cartoning equipment - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a boxing device for storing a plurality of articles in an outer box.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a boxing device that stores a plurality of articles inside an exterior box such as a cardboard case (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Such a conventional boxing apparatus has an alignment conveyor for aligning a plurality of articles, a floor opening/closing device for opening and closing the floorboards (also referred to as damper plates or shutters), and the articles are aligned by the alignment conveyor. a push-out plate that pushes out a plurality of articles onto the floor board; and a flat plate-shaped stopper plate that is arranged to face the push-out plate with the goods sandwiched therebetween when the goods are pushed out by the push-out plate to stop the goods on the floor board. a lifting mechanism that lifts the exterior box to directly below the floorboard; a pair of flat holding plates that pinch and hold a plurality of articles pushed out onto the floorboard from both sides in the alignment direction; and a pushing plate for pushing the plurality of articles packed inside the exterior box from above when the floor plate is opened.

JP 2010-58848 A

In the above-described conventional cartoning apparatus, a plurality of articles are aligned in the thickness direction on the alignment conveyor, and at this time, the articles are aligned in a posture in which the vertical dimension in the height direction is longer than the horizontal dimension in the horizontal direction (width direction). may be In this case, when these articles are pushed out by the pushing plate and transferred onto the floorboard, some of the articles may overturn and be pushed onto the floorboard in the overturned state. If packing is performed in this state, packing failures and damage to the articles will occur. In addition, in Patent Document 1, in a transfer path in which an article is transferred from an alignment conveyor to a predetermined position on a floor board by a push-out plate, when the push-out plate returns to its original position after pushing out the article, it is pulled back by the push-out plate. However, no consideration is given to the overturning of the article when it is pushed out by the pushing plate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to prevent defective packing and damage to articles caused by falling articles when a plurality of aligned articles are pushed out by a pushing plate and transferred. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cartoning device capable of

In order to achieve the above object, a cartoning apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention pushes out a plurality of articles aligned at a predetermined alignment position with a pushing plate in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the alignment direction, thereby achieving a predetermined target. A boxing device for transporting the plurality of articles to a position and storing the transported plurality of articles in an outer box to produce a boxed article, wherein the article is transferred from the alignment position to the target position. a plurality of article detection sensors arranged side by side with an interval in a direction to detect the article being transferred; and detection by the plurality of article detection sensors during transfer of the plurality of articles by the push-out operation of the push-out plate. a control device that determines whether or not there is an overturned article based on the result, and interrupts the pushing operation of the push plate when it is determined that there is the overturned article.

According to this configuration, while a plurality of aligned articles are being transferred, the presence or absence of overturned articles is determined based on the detection results of the plurality of article detection sensors. Abort the pushing motion. After that, the worker can, for example, treat the overturned items during transfer and then restart the operation, thereby preventing improper packing and damage to the items due to the overturned items.

The articles are aligned at the alignment position in a posture in which the dimension in the height direction is larger than the dimension in the width direction, the control devices are arranged at intervals longer than the dimension in the width direction of the articles, and It may be configured to determine that there is an overturned article when two article detection sensors arranged at an interval shorter than the dimension of the article in the height direction simultaneously detect the article.

Three or more of the article detection sensors are provided, the articles are aligned at the alignment position in a posture in which the dimension in the height direction is larger than the dimension in the width direction, and the control device controls each of the articles. A plurality of sensor groups preset to include two article detection sensors arranged at intervals longer than the width dimension of the article and arranged at intervals shorter than the height dimension of the article It may be configured to determine that there is an overturned article when an article is simultaneously detected by the two article detection sensors included in any one of the sensor groups.

It further comprises an operation device for performing an operation for setting the type of the boxed goods, the control device pre-stores a plurality of the sensor groups corresponding to each type of the boxed goods, and the operation The presence or absence of the overturned article may be determined based on the detection results of the article detection sensors included in the plurality of sensor groups corresponding to the types preset in the container.

According to this configuration, when there is a change in the type of boxed products to be produced, the operator or the like simply operates the operation device in advance to set the type after the change, and the control device determines whether or not there is an overturned product. The sensor group used for determination can be changed to a sensor group corresponding to the changed product type. Therefore, the convenience is excellent when the type of boxed product is changed.

The three or more article detection sensors are arranged at predetermined intervals, and based on the height and width dimensions of the article and the arrangement intervals of the article detection sensors, each of the article detection sensors The article detection sensors included in the sensor group may be determined.

The present invention provides a boxing apparatus having the configuration described above and capable of preventing defective packing and damage to articles caused by falling articles when a plurality of aligned articles are pushed out by a push-out plate and transferred. There is an effect that it can be provided.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of an example of the boxing device of this embodiment. FIG. 2(A) is a plan view of the transfer path and its vicinity for explaining the state when a plurality of articles are pushed out by the extrusion plate, and FIG. 2(B) is a side view of the transfer path and its vicinity. It is a diagram. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the schematic configuration of the control system of the cartoning machine. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of the cartoning device.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals are given to the same or corresponding elements throughout all the drawings, and duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted. Moreover, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

(embodiment)
[overall structure]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of an example of the boxing device of this embodiment.

The boxing device 100 of the present embodiment is a device that packs, for example, a plurality of articles W in which foods are bagged or boxed into an exterior box 110 in a state of being aligned. For the sake of convenience, the cartoning apparatus 100 will be described with the front, rear, left, and right directions as shown in FIG. Note that up and down shown in FIG. 1 are true.

This boxing device 100 has an alignment conveyor (item aligning device) 6 that aligns a plurality (predetermined number) of articles W sequentially supplied from a supply conveyor 200 and conveys them to a predetermined alignment position T, and a push-out operation of a push-out plate 70 . A pushing device 7 for pushing out a plurality of articles W from an aligning position T of an aligning conveyor 6 to an article placement position (target position) A on a pair of floor plates 11 in an aligned state, and a plurality of articles pushed out to the article placement position A. A stopper plate 17 that abuts on a group of articles W, a clamping device 8 that clamps the group of articles pushed out to the article placement position A from the horizontal direction perpendicular to the pushing direction, and a pair on which the group of articles is placed. a floor opening/closing device 10 for opening and closing the floor plate 11 of the floor; a pushing device 9 for pushing a group of articles into the outer box 110; It has article detection sensors PH1 to PH4, a control device 30 that controls the operation of the packing machine 100, an operation display 50, and a frame 1 that supports each component of the packing machine 100 at a predetermined position. ing.

[Configuration of supply conveyor]
The supply conveyor 200 is composed of, for example, a belt conveyor, and when a plurality of articles W are sequentially supplied from a preceding device (not shown) such as a packaging machine, the articles W are conveyed and supplied to the alignment conveyor 6 .

[Construction of alignment conveyor]
The aligning conveyor 6 aligns a plurality of articles W in an upright state in a row. A plurality of fins (partition plates) 61 are provided on the transport surface 60a of the track at intervals in the transport direction. The plurality of fins 61 form a series of storage portions 62 capable of storing articles W on the endless track 60 between the fins 61 .

The endless track 60 has four annular belts supported by a pair of sprockets 63 . The four annular belts are divided into two each to constitute a first belt group 64 and a second belt group 65 . A plurality of fins 61 are attached to each of the first belt group 64 and the second belt group 65 . The first belt group 64 is rotationally driven by one sprocket 63 , and the second belt group 65 is rotationally driven by the other sprocket 63 . Each of the pair of sprockets 63 is driven by a separate motor. As a result, the first belt group 64 and the second belt group 65 can be driven to circulate independently of each other, and one of the belt groups repeats temporary stops to receive the article W in the storage section 62 at the article take-in position S. and the operation of holding the article W in the storage section 62 stopped at the alignment position T by the other belt group can be performed at the same time.

Further, on the upstream side of the alignment conveyor 6, an article pickup detection device 69 comprising a photoelectric sensor or the like is provided for detecting the article W transferred to the article pickup position S. As shown in FIG. The alignment conveyor 6 sequentially receives the articles W transferred from the supply conveyor 200 at the article take-in position S, changes the posture of the articles W from the lying posture to the upright posture, aligns them in a line, and moves to the alignment position T. transport.

[Configuration of Extruder]
The extrusion device 7 includes a flat extrusion plate 70 in which a plurality of slits 71 are formed. The pushing plate 70 is guided by a rail member (not shown) by the driving force of a driving device (not shown), and is positioned along one side of the aligning conveyor 6 at a retracted position. It is configured to horizontally advance and retract from a predetermined advanced position on the other side. The plurality of slits 71 are formed vertically from the lower end of the push-out plate 70 to the top so as not to come into contact with the plurality of fins 61 positioned at the alignment position T when the push-out plate 70 advances from the retracted position to the advanced position (push-out operation). It is formed so as to extend in the direction.

The push-out plate 70 advances (moves in the x direction) from the retracted position (the position shown in the figure) to the advanced position, thereby moving the plurality of articles W aligned on the alignment conveyor 6 along the transfer path 75 . and is pushed out to the article placement position A. The transfer path 75 is formed by the crossover plate 73 and the closed floor plate 11 . A pair of guide plates 74 are provided on both sides of the transfer path 75 to prevent the plurality of articles W pushed out by the push-out plate 70 from scattering.

Therefore, the plurality of articles W accommodated in the series of accommodation sections 62 positioned at the alignment position T are moved by the push-out plate 70 in the conveying direction of the alignment conveyor 6 (the direction in which the plurality of articles W are aligned on the alignment conveyor 6). The articles are pushed out and moved in the horizontal direction (x-direction) perpendicular to each other to form a group of articles aligned in the same direction as the conveying direction of the alignment conveyor 6, and placed on the article placement position A set on the closed floor board 11. be done.

[Structure of stopper plate]
The stopper plate 17 is a plate-like body extending in a direction parallel to the conveying direction of the alignment conveyor 6, and is fixed to the frame 1 so as to face the pushing plate 70 positioned at the advanced position. Therefore, the article W pushed out to the article placement position A by the pushing plate 70 contacts the stopper plate 17 and stops on the closed floor plate 11 .

[Configuration of pinching device]
The clamping device 8 has a pair of holding plates 80 . The pair of holding plates 80 are arranged above the pair of floorboards 11 on extension lines of the pair of guide plates 74 . That is, the pair of holding plates 80 are provided to face each other in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the pushing direction x of the pushing plate 70 . The pair of holding plates 80 extends to the vicinity of the stopper plate 17 .

When the plurality of articles W are pushed out by the push-out plate 70 , regions defined by the push-out plate 70 , the stopper plate 17 and the pair of holding plates 80 are formed on the floor plate 11 . This area constitutes the article placement position A. FIG. The group of articles pushed out in the x direction by the pushing plate 70 contacts the stopper plate 17 and is placed on the article placement position A in a state in which the pair of holding plates 80 are aligned in the direction Y in which they face each other.

A horizontally extending shaft 81 is provided on the rear surface of each holding plate 80 . Each shaft 81 is configured such that the pair of holding plates 80 move forward and backward in directions toward and away from each other by a driving device (not shown). By advancing the pair of holding plates 80 in the direction toward each other, the group of articles positioned at the article placement position A is pressed between the pair of holding plates 80 from the alignment direction Y, and the articles W are brought into close contact with each other. can be done.

[Configuration of floor opening/closing device]
The floor opening/closing device 10 is provided on the side of the alignment conveyor 6 and includes a pair of floorboards 11 extending in the horizontal direction. The pair of floorboards 11 are supported at their edges by a plurality of rollers arranged on the frame 1, and are configured to be movable back and forth so that their opposing end surfaces are in contact with each other and separated from each other. The pair of floorboards 11 are configured to be driven to open and close by the driving force of a driving device (not shown). When the pair of floorboards 11 are driven backward, the end surfaces of the floorboards 11 are separated from each other, and an opening is formed directly below the article placement position A (the floorboards 11 are opened).

[Construction of pushing device]
The push-in device 9 has a vertically extending shaft 90 and a push-in member 91 having the lower end of the shaft 90 joined to its upper surface. The shaft 90 is supported by the frame 1 so as to be able to move up and down. The shaft body 90 is configured to move up and down in the vertical direction together with the pushing member 91 by the driving force of a driving device (not shown). By lowering the pushing member 91, the pushing device 9 pushes the upper surface of the group of articles at the article placement position A downward to escape the group of articles downward from between the pair of holding plates 80, thereby opening the pair of holding plates 80. can be pushed into the outer box 110 located at the boxing position P below the floorboards 11 through the opening between the floorboards 11 of FIG.

In this example, the lower surface of the pushing member 91 is provided with a suction port for sucking the upper surface of the group of articles. The group of articles can be pushed into the exterior box 110 by lowering to a predetermined position while holding the upper surface of the group of articles by suction.

[Structure of Outer Box Arranging Device]
The outer box arranging device 20 has an outer box conveying conveyor 22 that horizontally conveys the outer box 110 and an outer box lifting device 21 .

The outer box transport conveyor 22 is a drive roller conveyor provided with a large number of drive rollers 22a, and the outer box 110 is transported in the y direction by the drive rollers 22a.

The outer box lifting device 21 has a pedestal 24 on which the outer box 110 is placed. The pedestal 24 includes a plurality of rods 24a that can be embedded in the gaps between the driving rollers 22a, and connecting members 24b that connect the rods 24a. The pedestal 24 is supported by a known elevating device (not shown) and configured to be able to move up and down. That is, the pedestal 24 moves up and down between a predetermined lowered position where the bar 24a is buried in the gap between the driving rollers 22a and a predetermined raised position. The exterior box 110 on the pedestal 24 is configured to be at a predetermined packing position P when the pedestal 24 is at a predetermined raised position.

A restraining device 23 such as an air cylinder is attached to the pedestal 24 . The restraining device 23 is provided with a rod 23a that can move back and forth. When the pedestal 24 is in the lowered position, the rod 23a is advanced to move the outer box 110 transported by the outer box transport conveyor 22 to the article placement position. The outer box 110 can be stopped at the box stop position U below A, and the outer box 110 can be conveyed downstream from the box stop position U by retracting the rod 23a. A box detection device 25 comprising a photoelectric sensor or the like is attached to the pedestal 24 .

[Structure for detecting overturned articles in transport path]
FIG. 2(A) is a plan view of the transfer path 75 and its vicinity for explaining the state when a plurality of articles W are pushed out by the push plate 70, and FIG. 2(B) is a plan view of the transfer path 75 and It is a side view of the vicinity. In FIG. 1, each of the guide plates 74 and the holding plates 80 is illustrated as a complete flat plate, whereas in FIG. Although the end portion on the 6 side is shown to spread outward, it may be shaped in this way. Although the guide plate 74 and the holding plate 80 are not shown in FIG. 2B, the lower ends of the guide plate 74 and the holding plate 80 are positioned higher than the article detection sensors PH1 to PH4. ing.

As described above, the transfer path 75 is composed of the bridge plate 73 and the pair of floor plates 11 . In the transfer path 75, a plurality of article detection sensors PH1 to PH4 are arranged at a predetermined pitch (predetermined interval) Q in the transfer direction (x direction) of the article W in order to detect the overturning of the article W pushed out by the push plate 70. are placed. This pitch Q is the arrangement interval of the plurality of article detection sensors PH1 to PH4, and is also the detection interval of the articles W in the transfer direction.

Each of the article detection sensors PH1 to PH4 is composed of, for example, a photoelectric sensor, and incorporates a light projector and a light receiver. ˜R4 are arranged (here, a retro-reflective sensor is exemplified). Light emitted from the projectors of the article detection sensors PH1 to PH4 passes through the gap between the lower end of the guide plate 74 or holding plate 80 and the surface of the footboard 73 or floor plate 11 and is reflected by reflectors R1 to R4. and this reflected light is detected by the photodetector. Therefore, if an article exists between each of the article detection sensors PH1 to PH4 and the reflectors R1 to R4, the article is detected because the light is blocked and the reflected light is not detected by the light receiver. Each of the article detection sensors PH1 to PH4 outputs an article detection signal to the control device 30 when detecting an article. As the article detection sensors PH1 to PH4, transmissive sensors in which a light emitter and a light receiver are separated and arranged to face each other may be used. Further, the article detection sensors PH1 to PH4 are not limited to photoelectric sensors, and may be configured by other sensors (for example, laser sensors, ultrasonic sensors, etc.).

In FIGS. 2A and 2B, an article W1 is pushed out by the push plate 70 and transferred onto the footplate 73, and an article W2 is at a predetermined article placement position A The article W is shown in the state when

A plurality of articles W are aligned in the thickness direction of the articles W between the fins 61 on the alignment conveyor 6 . At this time, in the present embodiment, the plurality of articles W are arranged in a posture in which the vertical dimension (height dimension) L in the height direction is larger than the horizontal dimension (width dimension) D in the width direction. These articles W are pushed out from the alignment conveyor 6 by the pushing plate 70 and transferred to the article placement position A on the floor board 11 .

During this transfer, an article W may fall over due to the frictional resistance between it and the footboard 73 and the floor plate 11, as shown in FIG. 2B. In this case, when the overturned article W3 becomes the article W4 at a slightly transferred position, the article W (W4) is detected by the two adjacent article detection sensors PH2 and PH3. Thus, in the illustrated example, the control device 30 is configured to detect overturning of the article W, for example, based on article detection signals from the two article detection sensors PH2 and PH3.

A method for detecting overturning of articles by the control device 30 will be described in detail below.

As described above, the articles W are arranged on the arranging conveyor 6 such that the width D and the height L satisfy the relationship D<L. Also, in this example, three or more article detection sensors PH1 to PH4 are arranged at equal intervals, and the arrangement interval (sensor arrangement pitch) is Q.

The type of goods W to be housed in the outer box 110 is determined according to the type of boxed goods to be produced, and depending on the type of goods W, the width dimension D and height dimension L of the goods W may differ. This embodiment is configured to change the detection condition for overturned articles (condition for determining the presence or absence of overturned articles) according to the type of boxed goods. Below, the conditions for the control device 30 to determine that there is an overturned article will be exemplified for the cases of several product types.

(In the case of a boxed product of the first type: the example shown in Fig. 2 (A) and (B))
In this first type article W, there is a relationship of D<Q<L between the width dimension D, the height dimension L, and the sensor arrangement pitch Q. As shown in FIG. In this case, it is determined that there is an overturned article on the condition that two article detection sensors of any one of the following sensor groups (1) to (3) simultaneously detect the article.

(1) PH1 and PH2 sensor groups (2) PH2 and PH3 sensor groups (3) PH3 and PH4 sensor groups
In this second type of article W, the width dimension D and height dimension L and the sensor arrangement pitch Q have relationships of D<Q and 2Q<L<3Q. In this case, it is determined that there is an overturned article on the condition that two article detection sensors of any one of the following sensor groups (1) to (5) detect the article at the same time.

(1) PH1 and PH2 sensor groups (2) PH2 and PH3 sensor groups (3) PH3 and PH4 sensor groups (4) PH1 and PH3 sensor groups (5) PH2 and PH4 sensor groups for boxed goods)
In this third type article W, the relationship between the width dimension D and height dimension L and the sensor arrangement pitch Q is D<Q and 3Q<L<4Q. In this case, it is determined that there is an overturned article on the condition that two article detection sensors of any one of the following sensor groups (1) to (6) detect the article at the same time.

(1) Sensor groups of PH1 and PH2 (2) Sensor groups of PH2 and PH3 (3) Sensor groups of PH3 and PH4 (4) Sensor groups of PH1 and PH3 (5) Sensor groups of PH2 and PH4 (6) PH1, Sensor group of PH4 (for 4th kind boxed goods)
In this fourth type article W, there are relationships of Q<D<2Q and 2Q<L<3Q between the width dimension D, the height dimension L, and the sensor arrangement pitch Q. In this case, it is determined that there is an overturned article on the condition that two article detection sensors in either one of the following sensor groups (4) and (5) detect the article at the same time.

(4) PH1 and PH3 sensor groups (5) PH2 and PH4 sensor groups
In the article W of the fifth type, the relationship between the width dimension D and height dimension L and the sensor arrangement pitch Q is Q<D<2Q and 3Q<L<4Q. In this case, it is determined that there is an overturned article on the condition that two article detection sensors in any one of the following sensor groups (4) to (6) detect the article at the same time.

(4) PH1 and PH3 sensor groups (5) PH2 and PH4 sensor groups (6) PH1 and PH4 sensor groups
In the article W of the sixth type, the relationship between the width dimension D and the height dimension L and the sensor arrangement pitch Q is 2Q<D<3Q and 3Q<L<4Q. In this case, it is determined that there is an overturned article on the condition that the two article detection sensors described in (6) below detect the article at the same time.

(6) Sensor groups of PH1 and PH4 In the above, the sensor group of (4) is a group consisting of three sensors, PH1, PH2, and PH3, and when an article is simultaneously detected by these three sensors , it may be determined that there is an overturned article. Similarly, the sensor group (5) is a group consisting of three sensors PH2, PH3, and PH4, and when an article is detected simultaneously by these three sensors, it is determined that there is an overturned article. may The sensor group (6) is a group consisting of four sensors PH1, PH2, PH3, and PH4, and when an article is detected simultaneously by these four sensors, it is determined that there is an overturned article. can be

That is, each sensor group is set so as to include two article detection sensors arranged at intervals longer than the width dimension D of the article W and arranged at intervals shorter than the height dimension L of the article W. and is configured to determine that there is an overturned article when an article is simultaneously detected by the two article detection sensors included in any one sensor group. In addition, in the case of the article of the sixth type, there is only one sensor group in the above example.

Also, in this example, the configuration includes four article detection sensors, but a configuration including three article detection sensors is also possible. For example, if three sensors PH1, PH2, and PH3 are provided, the above sensor groups (1), (2), and (4) can be set, corresponding to the above 1st to 5th product types. can do. Therefore, by providing three or more article detection sensors, it is easy to deal with a plurality of product types.

In addition, when only one type of boxed product is to be produced, two products arranged at an interval longer than the width dimension D of the article W and arranged at an interval shorter than the height dimension L of the article W It is also possible to provide only an article detection sensor and determine that there is an overturned article when an article is simultaneously detected by these two article detection sensors. For example, in the case of producing only the boxed goods of the first type, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which only two article detection sensors, for example, PH3 and PH4, are provided. Further, when only boxed products of the sixth type are produced, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which only two product detection sensors PH1 and PH4 are provided.

[Configuration of control system]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of the control system of the cartoning apparatus 100. As shown in FIG.

The control device 30 includes, for example, a control section 31 having a computing unit such as a CPU, and a storage section 32 having memories such as ROM and RAM. An article detection signal output from the article take-in detection device 69, an article detection signal output from the article detection sensors PH1 to PH4 for detecting overturned articles, and a box detection signal output from the box detection device 25 are controlled by the control unit 31. is entered in Predetermined control programs are stored in the storage unit 32, and the control unit 31 reads out and executes these control programs to operate the alignment conveyor 6, the pushing device 7, the pressing device 8, the pressing device 9, and the opening and closing of the floor. It controls the operation of each of the device 10 , the outer box placement device 20 and the operation display 50 . That is, the control device 30 controls the operation of the entire cartoning device 100 . Note that the control device 30 may be composed of a single control device that performs centralized control, or may be composed of a plurality of control devices that cooperate with each other and perform distributed control.

The operation display unit 50 is configured using, for example, a touch panel display, etc., and a screen ( and a display for displaying on a display screen).

The control device 30 also receives signals from the operation display 50 and outputs signals such as data to be displayed on the operation display 50 .

The operator can operate the operation display 50 to set the type of boxed product to be produced. The product type set here is stored in the storage unit 32 in the control device 30 . In addition, the storage unit 32 stores in advance information of a sensor group for detecting overturned articles (for example, the sensor groups for the first to sixth types described above) according to each of a plurality of types.

[Operation of cartoning device]
FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of the cartoning apparatus 100. As shown in FIG. This operation is realized by processing of the control device 30 .

The operator operates the operation display 50 before starting the operation of the boxing device 100 to set the type of boxed product to be produced. This setting can be performed, for example, by operating the operation display unit 50 to display a plurality of producible product names and product numbers on the screen of the operation display unit 50, and selecting one of them. can be done. If the boxing apparatus 100 is an apparatus that only produces a single type of boxed product, setting the type is unnecessary.

When the operation is started, the control device 30 controls the alignment conveyor 6 to align a predetermined number of articles W sequentially supplied from the supply conveyor 200 at the alignment position T in step S1.

Next, in step S2, the control device 30 controls the push-out device 7 to move the push-out plate 70 from the retracted position to the advanced position, thereby pushing the articles W aligned at the alignment position T onto the floor plate 11. . As a result, an article group consisting of a plurality of articles W is placed on the article placement position A in an aligned state, and both ends of each article W in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the alignment direction Y are separated by the pushing plate 70 and the stopper plate 17. be in an aligned state.

Next, in step S3, the control device 30 controls the clamping device 8 to move the pair of holding plates 80 toward each other. As a result, the group of articles is pressed from the alignment direction Y, and the articles W can be brought into close contact with each other.

Next, in step S4, the control device 30 controls the pushing device 9 to lower the pushing member 91 having a suction function so as to come into contact with the upper surface of the clamped article group, thereby pushing the upper surface of the article group. Absorb. The group of articles is thereby held by the pushing member 91 .

Next, in step S5, the control device 30 controls the floor opening/closing device 10 to move the pair of floorboards 11 backward to open the floorboards 11 . As a result, an opening is formed immediately below the group of articles positioned at the article placement position A. As shown in FIG.

On the other hand, when the operation is started, the control device 30 causes the outer box transport conveyor 22 to start the transport operation, and in parallel with the above process, the outer box placement process of step S6 is performed. In this outer box arrangement processing, the bar 23a of the restraining device 23 is set to the advancing position in advance, and the outer box 110 carried in by the outer box conveying conveyor 22 is stopped at the box stop position U.例文帳に追加When a box detection signal is input from the box detection device 25, the controller 30 raises the pedestal 24 and positions the exterior box 110 at the box stop position U to the packing position P. As shown in FIG. It should be noted that the next outer box transported to the box stop position U by the outer box transport conveyor 22 is stopped at a position upstream of the box stop position U by a stopping device (not shown).

After opening the floor plate 11 in step S5, in step S7, the control device 30 controls the pushing device 9 to lower the pushing member 91 sucking the group of articles, thereby packing the articles into boxes. The group of articles is pushed into the outer box 110 at the position P. At this time, the articles W at both ends of the article group slide over the surface of the holding plate 80 .

Next, in step S8, the control device 30 restores the pushing device 7, the pinching device 8, the pushing device 9, the floor opening/closing device 10, etc. to their original states. For example, the pushing plate 70 is returned to the retracted position, and the holding plate 80 is retracted and returned to its original position. Also, after the suction function of the pushing member 91 of the pushing device 9 is stopped, the pushing member 91 is raised above the article group forming position. After the pushing member 91 is lifted, the floor plate 11 is closed.

In parallel with the return processing of step S8, the control device 30 performs the unloading processing of step S9. In this step S9, after the pedestal 24 is lowered to position the outer box 110 containing the group of articles at the box stop position U, the bar 23a of the restraining device 23 is withdrawn from the conveying path, and the outer box conveying conveyor 22 is moved. The outer box 110 is carried out from the boxing device 100 by the carrying operation. Then, the blocking operation of the blocking device (not shown) located upstream of the box stop position U of the outer box transport conveyor 22 is released, and the next outer box is transported to the box stop position U.

A boxed product in which a plurality of articles W are accommodated in the exterior box 110 is produced by the above-described boxing operation. Then, the same boxing operation as described above is sequentially repeated.

Further, in the present embodiment, during the extrusion process in step S2 (during transfer of a plurality of articles W by the extrusion operation of the ejection plate 70), the control device 30 selects the product type set by operating the operation display 50. Based on the output signals (detection results) of the article detection sensors (PH1 to PH4) included in the sensor group for detecting overturned articles, the presence or absence of an overturned article (overturned article) in the transfer path 75 is determined. When it is determined that there is an overturned article, the pushing operation of the push-out plate 70 is immediately interrupted (suspended) to temporarily stop the operation of the boxing apparatus 100, and the overturned article detection signal is sent to the operation display 50. Output. When the overturned article detection signal is input, the operation display unit 50 is configured to display that fact on the display unit and generate an alarm sound to notify the operator. After that, the operator treats the overturned article on the transfer path 75 (for example, returns the overturned article to its normal posture), and then operates the restart switch provided on the operation display 50 to Operation of the cartoning machine 100 can be resumed.

As described above, in this embodiment, during the transfer of a plurality of articles W by the pushing operation of the push plate 70, the presence or absence of overturned articles is determined based on the detection results of the article detection sensors PH1 to PH4. When it is determined that there is, the push-out operation of the push-out plate 70 is stopped. After that, the worker treats the overturned articles and restarts the operation, thereby preventing improper packing and damage to the articles due to the overturned articles.

In addition, in this embodiment, when there is a change in the type of boxed products to be produced, the operator or the like simply operates the operation display 50 in advance to set the changed type, and the control device 30 is overturned. The sensor group used for determining the presence or absence of an article can be changed to a sensor group corresponding to the changed product type. Therefore, the convenience is excellent when the type of boxed product is changed.

The change of the sensor group is performed by the operator or the like using the operation display 50 to select (select operation) an article detection sensor included in each sensor group corresponding to the product after the change. good too.

From the above description many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above description is to be construed as illustrative only and is provided for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode of carrying out the invention. Substantial details of construction and/or function may be changed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful as a boxing device or the like that can prevent defective packing or damage to articles caused by articles falling over when a plurality of aligned articles are pushed out by a push plate and transferred.

T alignment position A article placement position (target position)
PH1 to PH4 Article detection sensor 30 Operation display 50 Control device 70 Extrusion plate

Claims (4)

A plurality of articles aligned at a predetermined alignment position are pushed out by a pushing plate in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the alignment direction to transport the plurality of articles to a predetermined target position, and the transferred plurality of articles are wrapped. A boxing device for storing in a box and producing a boxed product,
a plurality of article detection sensors arranged side by side in a direction in which the article is transferred from the alignment position to the target position, and detecting the article being transferred;
During transfer of the plurality of articles by the pushing operation of the push plate, the presence or absence of the overturned article is determined based on the detection results of the plurality of article detection sensors, and when it is determined that there is the overturned article, the a control device that interrupts the pushing action of the pushing plate;
with
The articles are aligned at the alignment position in a posture in which the dimension in the height direction is larger than the dimension in the width direction,
The control device is
When an article is simultaneously detected by two article detection sensors arranged at an interval longer than the width dimension of the article and shorter than the height dimension of the article. , configured to determine that the overturned article is present;
packing equipment. A plurality of articles aligned at a predetermined alignment position are pushed out by a pushing plate in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the alignment direction to transport the plurality of articles to a predetermined target position, and the transferred plurality of articles are wrapped. A boxing device for storing in a box and producing a boxed product,
a plurality of article detection sensors arranged side by side in a direction in which the article is transferred from the alignment position to the target position, and detecting the article being transferred;
During transfer of the plurality of articles by the pushing operation of the push plate, the presence or absence of the overturned article is determined based on the detection results of the plurality of article detection sensors, and when it is determined that there is the overturned article, the a control device that interrupts the pushing action of the pushing plate;
with
Three or more article detection sensors are provided,
The articles are aligned at the alignment position in a posture in which the dimension in the height direction is larger than the dimension in the width direction,
The control device is
preset to include two article detection sensors each arranged at an interval longer than the dimension in the width direction of the article and arranged at an interval shorter than the dimension in the height direction of the article configured to determine that there is an overturned article when an article is simultaneously detected by the two article detection sensors included in any one of a plurality of sensor groups,
packing equipment. further comprising an operation device for performing an operation for setting the type of the boxed product,
The control device is
A plurality of sensor groups are stored in advance corresponding to each type of boxed product, and detection results of the article detection sensors included in the plurality of sensor groups corresponding to the types preset by the operating device. configured to determine the presence or absence of the overturned article based on
3. A cartoning machine according to claim 2 . The three or more article detection sensors are arranged at predetermined intervals,
The article detection sensors included in each of the sensor groups are determined based on the height and width dimensions of the article and the arrangement intervals of the article detection sensors.
4. A cartoning device according to claim 2 or 3 .

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